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Kyle Richard Gass (born July 14, 1960)[1] is an American musician, singer, actor, and comedian, best known for being a founding member of Tenacious D, a Grammy-winning comedy band.[2] He is also a member of Trainwreck and the Kyle Gass Band.[3]
Kyle Gass | |
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_Kyle_Gass.jpg) Gass performing in 2023 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Kyle Richard Gass |
| Also known as |
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| Born | July 14, 1960 Walnut Creek, California, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1988–present |
| Member of | |
| Website | kylegass |
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Kyle Richard Gass was born in Walnut Creek, California on July 14, 1960, and he has two brothers.[3] At 8 years old, he learned to play guitar and flute. Then at 28, he was working on his first television appearance with 7up.[1] He attended Las Lomas High School alongside notable alumnus Greg Williams, where he played flute in the marching band, graduating in 1978.[3] He studied acting at UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, where he met Tim Robbins.[1] In 1982, he joined Robbins' The Actors' Gang and in the early 1990s met and befriended Jack Black in the group.[4]
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Acting
Gass first appeared on-screen in a 1988 7up Gold commercial, and made his film debut two years later in Brain Dead.[5]
He made a cameo appearance in the Seinfeld episode "The Abstinence" in 1996, in a 1999 episode of the television show Fear of a Punk Planet,[citation needed] and in a 2003 episode of Friends, "The One With The Mugging" (S9 E15), as Phoebe's street friend Lowell.[citation needed] He appeared in music videos for Good Charlotte's 2002 song "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous", the Foo Fighters' 1999 song "Learn to Fly", and I Prevail's 2017 song "Already Dead".[citation needed]
Gass has played small roles in many of Jack Black's films (Year One, Kung Fu Panda, Shallow Hal, Saving Silverman, The Cable Guy, etc.). He starred with Jack Black in the movie Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny.
Gass appeared in Jacob's Ladder (1990), appeared as the "couch potato" in The Cable Guy (1996), and as an inept author of children's books in the comedy Elf (2003). He had a cameo role as a singing karaoke cowboy in Wild Hogs (2007). In 2008 he played the porn director in Extreme Movie, Walrus Boy in Wieners, the dirty trucker in the men's room in Sex Drive, and Decatur Doublewide in Lower Learning.[6]
Music
In Tenacious D, Gass plays lead guitar and sings backing vocals, and also plays the role of Black's comic foil in most of their comedy routines.
While appearing on Late Night with Conan O'Brien on November 15, 2006,[7] Gass claimed to have been the youngest graduate of the Juilliard School of Music with a degree in classical guitar studies at the age of 13. Juilliard did not have a guitar program in 1973, but began its graduate level guitar program in 1989 under Sharon Isbin, and its undergraduate program in 2007. Earlier, in an article in the Sunday Times on October 29, 2006, Black stated that Gass was the youngest graduate of Juilliard.[8] On May 13, 2008, Gass was a phone-in guest on the Adam Carolla Show. When Adam Carolla asked him "... And did you go to Juilliard?" Kyle replied "I didn't. I—you know, I made that up as a joke," he continued, "and I thought it would be hilarious, and then I've been hearing about it ever since. Apologies to Juilliard."[9]
In 2017, Gass performed the song "Penelope" for Amazon Music's "Love Me Not" compilation album.[10]
In 2021, Gass announced his first solo tour "Kyle Gass Must Save the World", however it was later cancelled.[11]
Other media
Gass starred in a web show, Guitarings, with John Konesky[12] and currently hosts the Did We Do It podcast with Kevin Weisman.[13] He has appeared as a contestant on the TV game show Sale of the Century.
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On July 16, 2024, Jack Black announced the cancellation of the ongoing Tenacious D Australian tour after Gass said "Don't miss Trump next time" on stage two days earlier, referencing the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. Gass made the comment after being presented with a birthday cake and asked to "make a wish".[14] This also put all future creative plans for the band on hold.[15][16] Gass apologized on social media, calling his comment "highly inappropriate, dangerous and a terrible mistake".[17] He was subsequently dropped by his longtime talent agent, Michael Greene.[18] Gass deleted the apology two days later.[19]
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with Tenacious D
- Tenacious D (2001)
- The Pick of Destiny (2006)
- Rize of the Fenix (2012)
- Post-Apocalypto (2018)
with Trainwreck
- The Wreckoning (2009)
with Kyle Gass Band
- Kyle Gass Band (2013)
- Thundering Herd (2016)
Film
| Year | Title[20] | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Brain Dead | Anaesthetist | |
| Jacob's Ladder | Tony | ||
| 1993 | Mike the Detective | Phil | |
| 1995 | The Barefoot Executive | Joe | |
| 1996 | Bio-Dome | KG | |
| The Cable Guy | Couch Potato | ||
| 1997 | Bongwater | Guitarist | |
| 1999 | Idle Hands | Burger Jungle Guy | |
| Cradle Will Rock | Larry | ||
| 2000 | Almost Famous | Quince Allen | |
| 2001 | Saving Silverman | Bar Dude | |
| The Zeros | Reed / David | ||
| Evolution | Officer Drake | ||
| Shallow Hal | Artie | ||
| 2002 | The New Guy | Mr. Luberoff | |
| 2003 | Elf | Eugene | |
| 2006 | Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny | KG | |
| 2007 | Wild Hogs | Lead Singer | |
| Monkeys | Uncredited | ||
| 2008 | Kung Fu Panda | KG Shaw (voice) | |
| Wieners | Walrus Boy | ||
| Dead and Gone | Reverend Grass | ||
| Lower Learning | Decatur Doublewide | ||
| Sex Drive | Trucker | ||
| Extreme Movie | Director | ||
| 2009 | Year One | Zaftig the Eunuch | |
| 2010 | Barry Munday | Jerry Sherman | |
| 2011 | High Road | Winter Weirdo | |
| 2012 | Beverly Hills Chihuahua 3: Viva La Fiesta! | Lester | |
| 2014 | Book of Fire | Sal | |
| 2015 | Circus | Circus | |
| 2017 | Gnaw (Apartment 212) | Terry |
Television
| Year | Title[20] | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Seinfeld | Smoker | Episode: "The Abstinence" |
| 1997–2000 | Tenacious D | Himself | All |
| 1999 | Fear of a Punk Planet | Fire Marshal | |
| 2000 | Manhattan, AZ | Merv | Episode: "Lt. Colonel's Boy" |
| 2001–2002 | Undeclared | Eugene | Episode: "Eric Visits Again" and "Eric's POV" |
| 2001 | Space Ghost Coast to Coast | Himself | Episode: "Sweet for Brak" |
| 2002–2003 | Fillmore! | Mr. Collingwood (voice) | 2 episodes |
| 2003 | Friends | Lowell | Episode: "The One with the Mugging" |
| Player$ | Himself | Episode: "Tenacious D a la Mode" | |
| 2004 | Cracking Up | Naked Man | Episode: "Panic House" |
| Tom Goes to the Mayor | Trapper Kyle | Episode: "Beat Traps" | |
| 2005 | Living with Fran | Rocker Dude | Episode: "The Concerts" |
| 2006 | The Jake Effect | Ceissner | Recurring |
| 2007 | The Naked Trucker and T-Bones Show | Himself | Episode: "Break Up" |
| 2011 | FCU: Fact Checkers Unit | Himself | Episode: "Excessive Gass " |
| 2012 | Femme Fatales | Willoughby Flagler | Episode: "Gun Twisted" |
| 2013 | 2 Broke Girls | Buzz | Episode: "And the Extra Work" |
| Ghost Ghirls | Hawk Olsen | Episode: "Spirits of '76: Part 1 & 2" | |
| 2014 | The Birthday Boys | John Allison | Episode: "Freshy's" |
| 2015 | Drunk History | Fred Eaton | Episode: "Los Angeles" |
| 2018 | Brooklyn Nine-Nine | Dario Moretti | Episode: "Jake & Amy" |
| Tenacious D in Post-Apocalypto | KG | ||
| 2018–2019 | Speechless | Carl | 2 episodes |
| 2022 | Hacks | Axel | Episode "The Click" |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Brütal Legend | Kage the Kannonier | Also facial likeness[21] |
Music videos
| Year | Video | Role | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Learn to Fly (Foo Fighters) | Flight attendant | Roswell Records |
| 2001 | Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous (Good Charlotte) | Lawyer | Epic Records |
| 2017 | Already Dead (I Prevail) | Internet troll | Fearless Records |
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